Warm Milk
by dnofsunshine
Summary: Hikari has her own room now. She should sleep in it. Because she's a big kid, and big kids don't sleep in their older brother's rooms. Sibling fluff. One-shot.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own digimon.

 **a/n:** so it took me aLL THESE YEARS to figure out that Taichi & Hikari do not share a room in 02 or tri. And then, once I noticed it, this came out. Enjoy more late-night sibling fluff.

* * *

Ten-year-old Hikari pulls her blanket up to her chin, eyes closed, but she's unable to fall asleep. Her loft bed is decidedly comfortable, and her covers are warm, so she is not certain of why her mind finds slumber so unappealing. She tosses. She turns. She curls into a ball and then stretches out.

It's her first night in her own room, and it's quiet and dark and she finds this very unsettling. She's shared a room with Taichi for as long as she can remember. But then, she's a girl, and Taichi is a boy, and they're growing, and Hikari needs her own space, her father had said.

So they started moving her things into her father's old office, and she has this new bed that she's supposed to grow into. Her things are scattered across the floor without order; she has not decided how to decorate it yet. Her father even says they're looking for a desk that she will like so she has a place to do her homework when spring vacation comes to an end and the new school years starts.

She had no problem sharing a desk with Taichi, she had wanted to say. Taichi always made homework fun. But that would probably sound impolite, and her mom had looked so excited when they were shopping for a new bedspread. Taichi had left early for soccer practice, and she stayed behind to help them move everything, keeping to herself because disappointing her parents is the last thing she wants to do.

She sighs quietly, trying to steady her breathing so she can relax. She's always been envious of how easily Taichi can fall asleep—he crashes so hard he becomes dead to the world. Hikari, however, wakes to the sound of a door clicking, to the sound of midnight traffic, or Miko scratching at their door…

She finds herself rolling over again and freezes. This is frustrating.

She's been in here countless times before when it was her father's office, and never once did it make her feel so out of place. Maybe it's ridiculous, and she doesn't want to admit it out loud, but she feels a little unsafe, in this new bed, all by herself. Like there's someone outside her bedroom door, waiting for her to slip into a slumber so they can attack. Perhaps being targeting by Vamdemon has something to do with this childish fear, and she can so easily place the blame on being in the digital world, but she knows deep inside that is only part of the reason.

A part of her wishes Tailmon were here so she's not alone, and she smiles to herself as though thinking about her partner will somehow transport her here. Her purr: quiet, but noticeably deeper than Miko's. Her fur: shiny and warm—warmer than this blanket, even—and soft underneath the pads of her fingers. Her eyes that know too much, that have seen too much; but still glisten with determination and the promise to protect her.

She knows Tailmon has trouble sleeping, too. She's awoken before to her partner twitching, paws curling and uncurling, her face twisting ever so slightly as she remains trapped in the realm of old memories so horrific and lonely they've become nightmares.

Her smile crumbles slightly as she thinks of where Tailmon is now, and if it's night time in the digital world, and if she's sleeping and having pleasant dreams. She's not alone anymore. Agumon, Patamon, Piyomon… they're all there to keep her company. But then she thinks of how easily their team drifted apart when they returned to Earth, and that makes her wonder if the same happened to their digimon.

Hikari sighs again and resolves to sit up. Thoughts like these are not going to help her sleep. It's dark, but her eyes have long ago adjusted to the lack of light, and so she carefully steps down from her loft bed. Perhaps something to drink would do the trick.

She's in the kitchen before she knows it, and the light of the fridge is too bright, too harsh on her eyes, and she has to close it to allow the dots dancing in her vision to fade. Then, when she's able to open it without being blinded, she reaches for the milk.

The problem is, she's not tall enough to get a glass from the cabinet, and climbing onto the counter will probably be too loud. Taichi can sleep through anything, sure, but her parents are going to wonder why she's up this late if she makes too much noise. She doesn't want to worry them.

"Hikari."

She stills, immediately recognizing that voice as her brother's, and very slowly, she turns to face him. His eyes are webbed and his hair is forever a mess, but he does not look upset. She carefully sets the carton of milk on the countertop, allowing the fridge door to shut quietly on its own. "Hi, Onii-chan."

Immediately, Taichi is in front of her, and the back of his palm is pressed against her forehead as if to test her for a fever. Then he says, "What're you doing up?"

She shrugs. "I was thirsty."

She can't tell if he frowns or smiles, but there's a short, soft sigh that follows her sort-of lie. Wordlessly, Taichi picks up the carton of milk and reaches into the cabinet for a cup. "Do you want it warm?"

Another shrug. But Taichi is no longer facing her, and so she whispers, "Will that wake up Mom and Daddy?"

This time, the grin is evident in his voice. "Not if we're quiet."

She leans against the wall silently, watching as he retrieves a saucepan and clicks the stove on. It'd be easier to make it in the microwave, but Hikari always prefers using the stove, and Taichi knows this. She smiles, but it soon falls from her face. Murmurs, "Did I wake you up?"

"It's barely midnight, Hika. I was still playing my game," he answers, still grinning.

"Mom doesn't like it when you do that."

"And who's going to tell her?"

Hikari giggles under her breath. "Ok."

Within a few minutes, Taichi is testing the milk to see if it's warm enough and then offers her a taste as well. She wonders briefly how he perfects it each time, but Taichi always smiles and tells her it's a secret. When she's securely holding her not-quite hot mug again, Taichi quietly says, "Get some sleep, sis. Ok?"

Her smile is gone again, and she hopes that he can't see it because it's dark. Still, she nods anyway, sipping carefully as Taichi gives her a brief goodnight hug. Then he's guiding her back to her new room, ruffling her hair affectionately, and before she knows it she's standing alone in front of her bed.

She sits on the steps for several moments, ignoring the faint ache in her chest. She's a big girl. She can stay in her own room. It's not that hard. Sora doesn't have any siblings, and neither do Mimi or Koushiro, and they sleep in their rooms, all by themselves. Takeru doesn't even have the privilege of sharing a house with his brother, and he sleeps in his own room. There's no reason to be upset.

Because she's a big kid.

She's growing up.

Taichi's growing up.

She's standing again, pulling her blanket off her bed with one hand while her other is holding her mug. Then her feet are taking her to her bedroom door, down the hall, to Taichi's door, and she's cracking it open, murmuring Taichi's name very softly.

Taichi turns curiously, and his face is illuminated by the light of the computer that their father gave to him weeks ago. She pushes the door open more and he beckons for her to come in. She does, although timidly, and asks, "Can I watch you play your game?"

He smirks. "Mom probably won't like it if you do that."

"Who's going to tell her?"

An eye roll. "C'mon, sit down. Careful, though, don't spill your milk."

Hikari smiles slightly and nods, vigilantly climbing onto the bottom bunk. Taichi had refused to let their parents sell it. Said he didn't need a new bed. So he's still sleeping on the top bunk, but there is noticeably more space now that a lot of Hikari's clothes and toys are gone.

She listens intently as Taichi catapults into an explanation of how the game works and what he's doing, and she finishes her milk within the next five minutes. Sets it on the floor. She makes a cocoon out of her blanket and presses her cheek to the sheet, eyes focused on the screen as Taichi continues to offer his commentary. She's unsure of when she starts to drift off, but Taichi's voice is growing quieter, softer, softer, until it's a faint whisper in the wind.

She awakes in the morning to Taichi snoring somewhere above her, still wrapped up in her blanket on the bottom bunk. There's a pillow under her head, one that hadn't been there last night, and her cup that she'd put on the floor is gone.

She smiles sleepily and can't help but giggle when Taichi's snores become so loud that he startles himself awake.

Pretends that she's still asleep when he peers down at her with a fake look of hurt.


End file.
